Steelers Today – A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

Losing can have unexpected effects on a team. Like causing frustrated players to make stupid comments. That’s exactly what Hines Ward did.

Ward, one of the Steelers veteran leaders, made comments in an interview with Bob Costas that I’m sure he’d like to take back.

Ward implied that Big Ben should have played in a game that was as important as the Steelers’ game against the Baltimore Ravens was.  Ward’s frustration seemed to be due to the fact that the team thought that Big Ben was going to play, and weren’t informed until Saturday that he wasn’t.

The video below shows coach Tomlin’s response to Hines Ward’s comments.

From what I can tell, both Hines Ward and Coach Tomlin were at fault in this incident.

Tomlin should have explained to the team exactly why he wasn’t playing Big Ben. Whenever there is a lack of information, people tend to use their imaginations to fill in the vacuum.

Hines Ward was equally culpable. Since, by his own admission, he didn’t have adequate information, he should have kept his mouth shut. Instead, he put his foot in it.

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The Steelers suffered their third consecutive loss last night, losing to the Baltimore Ravens 20-17.

Prior to the game, most of the comments that I received from Steelers fans expressed fear.  Most thought that with Dennis Dixon making his first NFL start, the Steelers had no hope of beating an opponent like the Baltimore Ravens.  In fact, I can’t ever remember seeing such a prevalant sense of hopelessness among Steeler Nation.

As it turns out, Dixon played much better than most expected.  He was almost flawless in the first half, going 8-10 for 87 yards, with one TD and no interceptions.  His passer rating at the end of the first half was 136.2.

Steelers QB Dennis Dixon

In the second half, things didn’t go quite so well for Dixon.  The Ravens came out after half-time seemingly intent on flustering the young quarterback.  They started out with an array of blitzes that had Dixon rushing passes.  Then they transitioned into more of a zone defense that made it hard for Dixon to find open receivers.  Dixon ended up going 4-16 after the half.

But it wasn’t Dixon who was most responsible for the Steelers loss.  No, that distinction goes to the defense……and the coaches.

The vaunted Steelers defense seemed to completely forget how to tackle.  On multiple occasions, a Baltimore runner seemed ready to be tackled by a Steelers defender, only to see the defender completely miss the tackle.  William Gay, Ryan Clark, and James Farrior had some very noticeable missed tackles.

Another missed tackle

As the season progresses, I’m noticing that William Gay is emerging as the weak link on the Steelers defense.  Teams even seem to be targeting him now.  He’s not a sure tackler, and he is very vulnerable to double moves when in coverage.  Whenever the Steelers get beat for long pass plays, Gay and Ryan Clark always seem to be the defenders who are in the area.  Clark is the free safety, so I expect him to be in the area.  But Gay’s presence is a too common occurrence.

The Steelers’ special teams also turned in a poor performance.  But that has been a consistent theme this season, so it’s almost not worth mentioning.  Almost.

But the real culpability in the loss probably belongs to the Steelers’ coaches.  I don’t consider myself to be a mind reader, yet I was able to predict almost every play that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called.  If I was able to predict his calls, I’m sure the Ravens were able to do so as well.

Run, run, pass.  Run, run, pass.  Sound familiar?

Despite Dennis Dixon’s mobility, they seldom utilized it.  When they did, he threw for a touchdown, ran for a touchdown, and had a 31 yard run called back due to holding.  So why didn’t they put him in motion more often?  I understand that that they may not have wanted to subject Dixon to too many hits, since his backup had just been signed to the practice squad last week.  Nevertheless, there are “safe” ways to put a quarterback in motion.

They also didn’t seem to be interested in involving Mewelde Moore in the passing game, despite the fact that dumping the ball to the running back is probably the best safety valve that they could have provided to a young quarterback.  But the Steelers dumped the ball to Moore a grand total of 0 times.  That’s right, zero.  In fact, they only threw to their running backs twice during the entire game.   Moreover, the team seemed to be more interested in throwing the long pass than in attempting safer short passes.

I am not one of those people who is constantly calling for offensive coordinator Bruce Arians to be fired.  But I was very disappointed in his play calling in this game.

So the Steelers have dug themselves even deeper in the hole when it comes to the playoffs.  They are not mathematically eliminated, but things get tougher with each loss.

Ordinarily, I’d take great solace in the fact that the Steelers next two opponents are the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns.  But the way the Steelers have played lately, I’m not sure those are guaranteed wins.  In fact, if the Kansas City Chiefs game is any indication, we might actually lose one of those games.

Hopefully, some of the injured players like Troy Polamalu and Big Ben will be available to play soon.  But even with them, something tells me that the remainder of the season is going to be an emotional roller coaster for Steelers fans.

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Looks like the Steelers lost 3 times last week against the Kansas City Chiefs.  They lost the game, they lost starting QB Ben Roethlisberger to a head injury, and they lost backup QB Charlie Batch to a wrist injury.

With both Big Ben and Batch out for today’s game against the hated Baltimore Ravens, the game will now be in the hands of third string quarterback Dennis Dixon.

Dixon has made an appearance in a total of one NFL game in his 2-year NFL career.  During that game, he attempted 1 pass.  That pass was completed for a 3-yard gain.

This will be Dixon’s first NFL start.  Obviously, that would be a scary thing for just about any young quarterback.  But to make matters even worse, Dixon gets to do so against the Steelers’ AFC North nemesis – the Baltimore Ravens.  The Ravens have always played tough defense, and they won’t make it easy for Dixon.

Steelers QB Dennis Dixon

We all remember what happened last year when Rashard Mendenhall made his first start against the Ravens.  Ray Lewis hit Mendenhall with a crushing blow that put him on the injured reserve for the rest of the season.  Let’s hope that history doesn’t repeat itself.

Should Dixon be hurt, the Steelers signed Tyler Palko from their practice squad to serve as the #2 quarterback.  Big Ben is listed as the #3 quarterback.  However, he can only play if both Dixon and Palko are injured and are unable to perform.

I’ve heard some fans say that the Steelers should use the Wildcat offense to take advantage of Dennis Dixon’s athleticism.  Let me be the first to say that that would be absolutely INSANE.

The Wildcat offense would allow the quarterback to take too many hits.  In case you haven’t noticed, Dennis Dixon is not built like Big Ben.  He only weighs 209 lbs., and it is a tall, lanky 209.  He would get killed in the Wildcat.  Moreover, if he got injured, then the Steelers playoff hopes would be in the hands of Tyler Palko.  Need I say more?

I think that even in 2009 fans often look at black quarterbacks and assume that they are more comfortable running the ball than throwing it.  But not all black quarterbacks are like Michael Vick.  Dennis Dixon certainly isn’t.

Prior to injuring his ACL during his last year in college, Dennis Dixon was leading Oregon to a potential national championship.  Moreover, he was the front-runner for the Heisman trophy.  The kid was a star, and NFL scouts were drooling over him.

Dixon was an accomplished passer at Oregon.  He has a powerful arm, and can make all of the throws.  In fact, prior to his injury, he was viewed as a better prospect than last years’ NFL freshmen sensations Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco.

All three quarterbacks came out of college the same year.  That year, Dennis Dixon had a QB rating of 161.19.  Joe Flacco’s QB rating was 144.91, and Matt Ryan’s was 127.04.  Advantage: Dixon.

Dennis Dixon’s pass completion percentage was 67.7%.  Joe Flacco’s was 63.5%, and Matt Ryan’s was 59.3%.  Advantage: Dixon.

Dennis Dixon threw 4 interceptions.  Joe Flacco threw 5, and Matt Ryan threw a whopping 19.  Advantage: Dixon.

Most impressive of all, Dixon averaged 8.4 yards per pass.  Joe Flacco averaged 8.2, and Matt Ryan averaged 6.9.  So not only was Dixon a more accurate passer than Flacco or Ryan, but he also tended to make longer passes than them.

I’m not saying that Dixon is going to play better than Joe Flacco in this game.  After all, Joe Flacco has a year of experience behind him, while Dixon will be making his first start.  But do not be confused about Dixon’s potential.  He is more than just a gadget quarterback.  He can stand in the pocket and pass the ball.  He just needs experience.

It looks like that experience begins today.

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Okay, it seems like nobody else is willing to say it, so I guess I’m going to have to be the one to do it.  Charlie Batch is made of glass.  He’s like that guy in the M. Night Shyamalan movie “Unbreakable”.  He’s fragile.  He breaks upon the slightest contact.

Some have referred to him as “Brittle Batch”.  Perhaps that nickname is appropriate.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love Charlie Batch.  He has been an excellent backup quarterback for the Steelers for many years.  Unlike Byron Leftwich, Batch always seemed to be comfortable playing a backup role.  Moreover, he was a hometown boy.  So getting to play for the Black and Gold was a dream come true for him.

Charlie has been a mentor to Ben Roethlisberger throughout Big Ben’s career.  He can always be seen offering Ben words of advice and encouragement anytime Ben makes a mistake.

Steelers QB Charlie Batch

But despite Charlie’s many good qualities, he has one quality that is very bad for an NFL player; he gets hurt too easily.

Did anyone even realize that Charlie was hurt during the Kansas City game?  After all, he only participated in 4 plays.  When did he get hurt?  How did he get hurt?

Big Ben took a vicious knee to the head, and he’s already promising teammates and fans that he is going to play Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens.  Meanwhile, nobody saw Batch take a hit, but he’s out for the rest of the season.

The same thing happened in 2008.  Batch played a few plays in the preseason opener, and he broke his collarbone, which caused him to miss the entire season.

Steelers fans are probably spoiled because we get to watch Big Ben play each week.  Ben gets sacked 59 times per game, and he just keeps ticking.  How many times has Ben been sacked in the last 2 years?  3,000?  4,000?  But he just gets up and keeps playing.  I’m sure all of those hits are going to take their toll at some point, but so far, he shows no sign of slowing down.

That’s why it’s hard to accept Charlie’s injuries.  It seems that if a defender looks at Charlie too hard, he gets injured.

Lets take a look at Charlie’s history.

As a college quarterback, he missed the 1996 season when he injured his leg after only 2 games.

When he was with the Detroit Lions, Batch also had a history of injuries.  He played the 2nd half of the 1999 season with a fractured knuckle that severely hindered his performance.  In 2000 he injured his knee in a non-contact drill and had to have surgery.  He came back from the knee injury later in the 2000 season, but suffered bruised ribs  that seemed to slow him down for the rest of the season.  He also suffered a concussion that season that made him miss playing time.  Batch’s injury history, along with the Lions’ selection of Joey Harrington in the draft, finally made him expendable in 2001.

With the Steelers, Batch missed most of the 2004 season after having knee surgery.  Then as mentioned earlier, he missed the 2008 season with a broken collar bone.  Now he will miss the rest of the 2009 season with a broken wrist.  That’s a lot of time missed due to injury for any player.  But it’s a ridiculous amount of time missed for a backup player who seldom even gets onto the field.

Lets look exclusively at Batch’s time with the Steelers.  If we were to calculate the ratio of Batch’s time missed due to injury relative to his actual time spent on the field in games, the ratio would equal infinity.  He’s missed a lot of time while playing very little.

Batch will be 35 years old on December 5, 2009.  Brett Favre has proven that a quarterback can play long after age 35.  However, do the Steelers want to continue to place their faith in an aging quarterback who can’t seem to stay healthy?

As I said earlier, I really like Charlie Batch.  I truly do.  But someone has to ask the tough questions.  Since nobody else seems to be willing to, that burden apparently falls to me.

So what do you think?  Is it time for the Steelers to move in another direction with their backup quarterback, or is Batch worth keeping after the 2009 season?

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It was never mentioned during Sunday’s game, but at some point, Charlie Batch broke his wrist.  He played through the injury, so most of us weren’t even aware of how badly he was hurt.

Batch only participated in 4 plays in the Steelers overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.  He  entered the game when starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down with a possible concussion after being hit in the head by an opponent’s knee.  But at some point during those four plays, his wrist got broken.

QB Charlie Batch

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Batch will undergo surgery on Tuesday or Wednesday.  The Steelers organization has not made an official statement on the matter.  The team says that Coach Tomlin will provide an official update during his Tuesday press conference.

If the reports are true, then Batch would miss the rest of the regular season.  Depending on how well the wrist heals, he could potentially be available for the playoffs.

With Roethlisberger potentially having a concussion, and Batch out for at least 6 weeks, the Steelers might be forced to start 3rd string quarterback Dennis Dixon in Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Even if Big Ben is healthy enough to start on Sunday, the Steelers are still left without a 3rd quarterback on the active roster.

Sources say that the Steelers have signed quarterback Tyler Palko to their practice squad.  Palko, a former QB for West Allegheny H.S. and the Pitt Panthers ,was most recently with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League after brief stints with the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL.

Palko has never held a consistent spot on an NFL roster, so he is probably not an ideal candidate for the Steelers’ active roster.  The Steelers may also be looking for a more seasoned veteran to add to the active roster.  Several players are available, including Jeff Garcia who was recently released by the Oakland Raiders.

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The Steelers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs???  The Steelers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Steelers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs!!!!

That was basically my emotional progression following Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the Chiefs.  Initially I was confused.  Then came acceptance.  Then came anger.

How can the defending Super Bowl champs lose to a 2-7 team?  How can the Steelers generate over 500 yards of offense and lose?  How can the Steelers have almost twice the time of possession (44:07 vs. 22:25) and lose?  How can the Steelers sack the opposing quarterback 5 times and lose.

The only thing that calmed me down and brought my blood back down below the boiling point was the fact that the Cincinnati Bengals lost to the lowly Oakland Raiders.  In fact, every team in the AFC North lost, so nobody gained or lost any ground.

Had the Steelers won, they would now be tied with the Bengals for 1st place in the AFC North.  But the Steelers did not win. 

Frankly, I can handle losses.  Every team loses sometimes.  So the loss wasn’t what bothered me.  What bothered me was the way they loss.  The team allowed mental errors and poor execution to cost them a very winnable game.

The opening kickoff was a precursor of things to come.  The Chiefs’ Jamaal Charles returned the kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.  So with only 16 seconds elapsed in the game, the Steelers found themselves down 7-0.

Jamaal Charles' 97 yard TD

In the 3rd quarter, the Steelers were leading 17-7 when Ben Roethlisberger threw an untimely interception.  The Chiefs marched down the field and scored a touchdown.  Another costly mistake by the Steelers.

Later in the 3rd quarter the Steelers were driving and were in the Chiefs’ red zone when Roethlisberger threw another interception.  The Chiefs returned the interception 94 yards and would have scored had it not been for great hustle by Rashard Mendenhall.  Mendenhall ran down the field and made a tackle that prevented a touchdown.  The Steelers’ defense held firm, and the Chiefs had to settle for a field goal.  Nevertheless, that was another 3 points that the Chiefs shouldn’t have had.

In the 4th quarter, the Steelers’ pass defense suffered two consecutive breakdowns.  First Matt Cassel beat Ryan Clark for a 30 yard completion.  He must have seen something in Clark’s coverage that he thought he could exploit, because on the very next play he went right back at him and completed a 47 yard pass.  That’s 77 yards in two plays.  Three plays later, the Chiefs were in the endzone again. 

At the end of regulation, the Steelers found themselves in a 24-24 tie, despite leading in almost every statistical category. 

But as fate would have it, the Steelers won the coin toss, and chose to receive the kickoff.  Like everyone else in Steeler Nation, I assumed that the team would march down the field and win the game in overtime.  But to my surprise, the Chiefs defense stood firm and forced the Steelers to punt.

The Chiefs got the ball and pretty soon the Steelers suffered yet another defensive breakdown.  Matt Cassel threw a short pass to Chris Chambers, and Chambers managed to elude several Steelers tacklers on his way to a 61 yard gain.  So with a 1st and goal at the Steelers 4 yard line, the Chiefs elected to kick a field goal rather than try to get the ball in the endzone.  Ryan Succup’s kick split the uprights, and the Chiefs were celebrating while the Steelers stood in stunned disbelief.

Chris Chambers' 61 yard run

The Steelers have been an enigma all season.  They’ve lost games that they should have won, and they’ve won games that they should have lost.  Frankly, the Steelers could very easily be 10-0 at this point.  But they could also be 2-8.  I’m never quite sure which Steelers team I’m going to see from week to week.

Is the defense one of the best in the NFL, or are they the unit that has often been prone to 4th quarter meltdowns?  Is Big Ben a premiere quarterback, or is he a player who throws silly, unforced interceptions?  Are they a team that can win with a “smash mouth” running game, or are they a finesse team that prefers to pass in obvious running situations?

With 6 games remaining, the Steelers are going to have to figure out which team they are.  They face the Baltimore Ravens next week, and each loss makes it more difficult to make the playoffs.  Steeler Nation is waiting to see who this team really is.  Will the real Pittsburgh Steelers please stand up?

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Pop quiz:  Name 5 players on the Kansas City Chiefs.  Hint – Larry Johnson no longer plays for them.

If you struggled to name 5 players on this team, welcome to the club.  So did I.  It took me a moment to remember that the Chief were the team that ended up signing Matt Cassell to play quarterback.  I had also forgotten that they drafted Tyson Jackson, a player that I hoped the Steelers might get during the draft.

The Steelers will travel to Arrowhead Stadium to face this hard-to-name bunch on Sunday.

The Chiefs are ranked 30th in the NFL on offense, and 27th on defense.  So it is safe to say that they are not a very good team.

Coming off the loss to the Bengals, and with a game against the Baltimore Ravens coming up next week, this may be just what the doctor ordered for the Steelers.  The Chiefs should provide a nice tune-up game with little chance of a loss.  This will give the Steelers an opportunity to give Troy Polamalu additional rest for his knee.  It will also give them more time to rest Travis Kirschke, who practiced on Wednesday, but then had  a setback on Thursday.

I expect to see the Steelers utilize Rashard Mendenhall early and often in this game.  Not just because they want to make it up to him for completely forgetting about him in last week’s loss to the Bengals, but also because the Chiefs are terrible against the run.  The Chiefs’ defense gives up 141.3 yards per game on the ground.  Do you think that Rashard looks forward to running against them?  Yeah me too.

Rashard Mendenhall

The only problem is that the Chiefs defense is also terrible against the pass.  They’ve given up more pass plays that went for 40 yards or more than any other team in the NFL.  I’ll bet Santonio Holmes and Mike Wallace can’t wait to face these defensive backs.

The Steelers defense is probably equally excited.  The Chiefs’ offense averages 166.6 passing yards per game.  No you didn’t read that wrong.   Didn’t Larry Johnson used to run for  more yards per game than that in his prime?  How can a team average so few yards in the air?  Perhaps they are formidible on the ground.  Nope, they only average 100 rushing yards per game.  See why James Harrison is probably excited?  He probably envisions having 5 or 6 sacks this game.

But of course, we don’t want the team to get overconfident.  After all, we don’t want this to become a trap game.  But it is pretty difficult to imagine the Steelers losing this one.

I’m going to predict a Steelers victory by a score of 35-10.

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After failing to make a critical tackle on Cincinnati return man Bernard Scott’s 96-yard touchdown run, Jeff Reed took a lot of criticism from Steelers fans.  Reed apparently disagrees with the criticism, and had this to say in his own defense.

“I just look at those people like they don’t know what they’re talking about.  I’m coached to do certain things, and the No. 1 reason I’m here is to kick kickoffs the best I can and make field goals. When it comes to making a tackle, people like [punter] Dan [Sepulveda] kind of ruin it for me because he’s so athletic.”

Ummm, is it just me, or does that statement sound completely ludicrous.  Yes Jeff, you are here to kick field goals, but you also have to make a potential game-winning tackle when the opportunity presents itself.

Do you remember that play a few years ago when Jerome Bettis fumbled the ball near the goal line and the opposing player was sprinting for a potential touchdown that would have ended the Steelers’ season?  Ben Roethlisberger was the last line of defense.  So guess what he did?  He made the tackle.  It was an ugly tackle for sure, but he made the tackle.  He didn’t say, “I’m paid to pass the ball, not tackle people”.  He didn’t make excuses about how James Farrior and Troy Polamalu are better at tackling than he is.  Nope, he just made the play that needed to be made.

You, on the other hand, were within a few feet of the kick returner on kicks that were returned for touchdowns by the Minnesota Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals.  In the Vikings game, you did tap the runner with your hand, but against the Bengals, you just looked at Bernard Scott as he came so close that you could probably smell his breath.  You didn’t reach out your hand towards him.  You didn’t dive at his legs.  You didn’t do anything except watch him run for a touchdown.

Excuse me for disagreeing with you, but I think you could have done just a bit more.  Moreover, I think most of Steeler Nation agrees with me.

But apparently Reed feels that he did exactly what he was coached to do.  He went on to express further disagreement with the fans’ perception.

“That was about a 50-yard sprint for me, and my job is to make him cut back inside and he went inside of me.  Looking back at the play, if I’d have slowed down a little bit I maybe could have dove in his path a little better. For me, that was fast, and I was cutting him off.  I thought we had a chance to get him, and we didn’t get him down.”

It’s great to know that you have a specific assignment on that play, Jeff.  But there are times when you just have to do a little bit more than your assignment.

When Big Ben made that tackle, he was doing just a little more than was expected.  When Hines Ward continues to block until the whistle blows, he is doing just a little more than is expected.  When 6 Steelers escorted James Harrison into the endzone during Super Bowl XLIII and made sure that no Cardinals players touched him, they were doing just a little more than is expected.

You see, that’s the point that you’re missing.  We EXPECT you to do more than is expected.  Pittsburgh is a tough town, and Steeler Nation is a tough audience.  We expect excellence from you, even when it’s not your job.  Do it anyway.

We expect Steelers players to be tough.  That’s why we don’t like it when Steelers running backs make half-hearted attempts to block pass rushers.  You’re all football players.  More importantly, you’re Pittsburgh Steelers football players.  We expect you to be tough.  Every one of you.  Even the kicker.

But of course you disagree with all of this.  Your toughness only comes out when you are in a drunken stupor.  And it is reserved for towel dispensers, and police officers.

Jeff Reed

According to you, we fans “don’t know what we’re talking about”.  Okay, maybe we don’t.  But next time make the #$^%&  tackle, even if it’s not your assignment.

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Editor’s Note:  Below is a story that was submitted by Beth Apone Salamon.  It is a tribute to her father, Carl Apone.  The piece first appeared in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and Beth asked if I would share it with my readers.  Once I read it, I immediately knew that any Steelers fan would appreciate this sad but touching story.

Her dad, Carl Apone, truly personifies “the heart of a Steelers fan”.  Enjoy!

From September through January, for three hours most Sundays and on the occasional Monday night, my father is alert, awake and engaged in a Steelers game. While this may seem like a small feat for a Pittsburgher, consider that this is the only extended period of time that he is alert, awake and engaged in anything.

Somewhere, deep down inside, is a Steelers fan who won’t let illness and exhaustion rob him of the chance to yell, “Atta boy, Polamalu!” at the television screen. He is hard-core.

My mother explained to my father’s cardiologist, a dour man who barely speaks, that congestive heart failure causes my father to sleep the entire day and night, waking only to eat. The one exception is when the Steelers play. Whether it is a day game or a night game, he is somehow able to remain awake to cheer for the entire three-hour event.

The cardiologist smiled, exercising facial muscles he rarely employs, and suggested that my mother put Steelers games on a recorded loop and play it all day so her husband could stay awake. Mother was not amused.

Three years ago, after the congestive heart failure began, my father became an old person. Before that he was an old person who never acted old. Hailing from a long line of small Italians who drink wine and live forever, he never seemed to age, even into his 80s. Most nights you could find him laughing with his almost 90-year-old sister, Mimi.

Then, a few weeks after his granddaughter’s first communion, Dad’s condition deteriorated rapidly. He now sleeps between 18 and 20 hours a day. At Thanksgiving last year I cleared the table and when I returned he was sound asleep in the chair.

There are moments of grace, when we see glimpses of the old fighting spirit. He still answers all of my mother’s spelling questions. If I ask him to remember something, he usually does, much like in my college days when he would call repeatedly to remind me of a test.

On a rare recent phone call he was delighted to learn that his granddaughter is taking up the violin and plans to play “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” for him. As the former music critic for The Pittsburgh Press, a violinist and a member of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish band, my dad, Carl Apone, has had a lifelong passion for music.

He still receives communion every Sunday at his home. This is poignant, as he was a eucharistic minister to the sick for years. I remember that once the eucharist was in the car that he was driving to the hospital or someone’s home, he would not speak. It was a time for reverence.

But by far, the moments when he is most alive, most himself, are Steelers Sundays. My mother positions him in his comfortable chair and tries not to walk in front of the screen during key plays, a habit that has merited much arm waving over the years.

There is something beautiful about the way Pittsburgh embraces Steelers Nation. It is a love affair I’ve witnessed since childhood when the “Pittsburgh Polka” played and the priests at Our Lady of Grace Church wore Steelers stoles. It is personal to us, not just a sporting event where football players with fat salaries knock each other silly.

The players are part of our Pittsburgh family. We follow the legacy of the Rooney family, owners who know each player by name and show up every day to check not on the profitability of the franchise, but rather on the well-being of the players.

Steelers fans find each other, even in other cities. My parents once spent three weeks in Hilton Head during the winter. They met Steelers fans on the beach within 24 hours. By the next day they were invited to a Super Bowl party with a promise that Impy, the French bull dog, might wear his Steelers sweater.

Steelers fans are happy to stand in the cold and decorate the Terrible Tree on game days, because the Steelers’ success is our success. I went to the airport during some recent playoffs and every steward or stewardess at the check-in gate was wearing Steelers garb, as well as most of those boarding. It was a mighty sea of black and gold.

Sure, we complain now and then. Why does Ben have to put us through such agony only to pull off an 11th-hour win? Some of us are old and our hearts can’t take it. And why does the new stadium have that open side so we freeze our rumps? Some of us are old and we don’t make our own heat anymore.

But when the chips are down, Steelers fans can’t be kept from their appointed rounds. Even when congestive heart failure squeezes the last bit of energy from an old, tired body, the heart of a Steelers fan keeps beating. We are hard-core, and we are here, until the final play.

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